Harper Valley PTA (TV series)

Harper Valley PTA (known simply as Harper Valley during its second season) is an American sitcom television series based on the 1978 film of the same name, which was itself based on the 1968 country song of the same name recorded by singer Jeannie C. Riley and written by Tom T. Hall. The series, starring Barbara Eden who reprised her role from the film, aired on NBC from January 16, 1981 to August 14, 1982.

Harper Valley PTA
Anne Francine and Barbara Eden
Also known asHarper Valley
GenreSitcom
Created bySherwood Schwartz
Based onCharacters created by
George Edwards
StarringBarbara Eden
Fannie Flagg
Jenn Thompson
Anne Francine
Bridget Hanley
Mills Watson
George Gobel
Opening theme"Harper Valley PTA", originally performed by Jeannie C. Riley
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes30
Production
Running time30 minutes (per episode)
Production companiesRedwood Productions (season 1)
Ten-Four Productions (season 2)
DistributorUniversal Television
NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseJanuary 16, 1981 (1981-01-16) 
August 14, 1982 (1982-08-14)
Chronology
Related showsHarper Valley PTA (1978 film)

Synopsis

The series went on to flesh out the story in the song, as it told of the adventures of Stella Johnson (Barbara Eden), a single mother to teenager Dee (Jenn Thompson), who lived in the fictional town of Harper Valley, Ohio. The town was dominated by the namesakes of the founder, the Harper family, most prominently represented by the mayor, Otis Harper, Jr. Mrs. Johnson's flouting of the small town's conventions, and exposure of the hypocrisy of many of its other residents, provided the series' humor.

In the show's early episodes, Mrs. Johnson had been recently elected to the board of directors of the PTA and this was the source of most of the show's plots; later it was decided that this idea had been carried about as far as was practical and the PTA aspect was dropped from the show, which was then retitled Harper Valley. During this phase, Stella's relationship with Dee was more prominent and actor Mills Watson joined the cast as Stella's eccentric uncle, Winslow Homer Smith. Nicknamed Buster, he was an inventor whose inventions never worked the way they were supposed to. Stella still did battle with the Reillys on occasion.

At various times, Stella had to deal with her devious twin, Della Smith (played by Barbara Eden wearing a black wig), much as she had when she was on her more famous series, I Dream of Jeannie, when she played her evil twin sister, Jeannie II.

The show ran from January 1981 to August 1982 on NBC; it was later released into syndication to local stations briefly in the mid-1980s, even though there were too few episodes made for it to be normally syndicated. Cable television network TV Land showed reruns of the show in 2000.

Broadcast history

SeasonTime
1980–81Friday at 8:00–8:30
1981–82Thursday at 8:00–8:30 (October 29 – November 19, 1981)
Saturday at 8:00–8:30 (December 12, 1981 – January 2, 1982; April 10 – May 1, 1982)
Saturday at 8:30–9:00 (January 23 – February 27, 1982)

Episodes

Season 1 (1981)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
11"To Dunk or Not to Dunk"Bruce BilsonSherwood Schwartz & Lloyd J. SchwartzJanuary 16, 1981 (1981-01-16)
22"A Husband for Stella"Alan MyersonJordan MoffetJanuary 23, 1981 (1981-01-23)
33"Mail and Female"Alan MyersonJerry RossJanuary 30, 1981 (1981-01-30)
44"Don Juan and Two"Claudio GuzmánDavid P. HarmonFebruary 6, 1981 (1981-02-06)
55"The Life of Reilly"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Brad RadnitzFebruary 13, 1981 (1981-02-13)
66"Stella, the Reilly Girl"Richard BennettJoan Brooker & Alexandra StoddartFebruary 20, 1981 (1981-02-20)
77"Moonlighting Becomes You"Bruce BilsonGordon MitchellMarch 6, 1981 (1981-03-06)
88"A Tree Grows in Harper Valley"George TyneWarren MurrayMarch 13, 1981 (1981-03-13)
99"Dirty Tricks"Claudio GuzmanDianne & Lou MessinaMarch 20, 1981 (1981-03-20)
1010"Stella and Howard"Bruce BilsonSherwood Schwartz and Lloyd J. SchwartzMarch 27, 1981 (1981-03-27)
1111"Mayor Bobby"Sigmund Neufeld Jr.Jordan MoffetApril 3, 1981 (1981-04-03)
1212"My Fair Stella"Claudio GuzmanPhil Mishkin & Judy GabrielApril 10, 1981 (1981-04-10)
1313"Bad Day at Harper Valley"Claudio GuzmanRichard FreimanApril 17, 1981 (1981-04-17)

Season 2 (1981–82)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
141"Make Room for Uncle Buster"Rod DanielWilliam DialOctober 29, 1981 (1981-10-29)
152"Good for the Goose...Sauce for the Gander"Ron DanielRon FriedmanNovember 5, 1981 (1981-11-05)
163"Reunion Fever"Dick HarwoodSusan Misty StewartNovember 12, 1981 (1981-11-12)
174"$500 Misunderstanding"Nick HavingaMalcolm & Amy WebbNovember 19, 1981 (1981-11-19)
185"Stella's Scam"Alan BergmanCharles IsaacsDecember 5, 1981 (1981-12-05)
196"Flora's Dinner Party"Rod DanielJerry DavisDecember 12, 1981 (1981-12-12)
207"I'm Dreaming of a Harper Valley Christmas"William AsherJackie McKane & Joel TappisDecember 19, 1981 (1981-12-19)
218"Low Noon"Alan CookeDavid Hackel & Steve HattmanJanuary 9, 1982 (1982-01-09)
229"The Show Must Go On"Alan MyersonJerry RannowJanuary 16, 1982 (1982-01-16)
2310"Svengali of the Valley"Alan MyersonDaid Hackel & Steve HattmanJanuary 23, 1982 (1982-01-23)
2411"Firechief Follies"Les MartinsonDonald RossJanuary 30, 1982 (1982-01-30)
2512"Stella Della"William AsherJerry RannowFebruary 13, 1982 (1982-02-13)
2613"Stella Rae"William AsherJudy Gabriel & Philip MishkinFebruary 27, 1982 (1982-02-27)
2714"Harper Valley Hoedown"William AsherMichael WeinbergerApril 10, 1982 (1982-04-10)
2815"Grizzly Gap"Alan CookeDavid Hackel & Steve HattmanApril 17, 1982 (1982-04-17)
2916"The Return of Charlie's Chow Palace"William AsherGreg StrangisApril 24, 1982 (1982-04-24)
3017"Harper Valley Sentinel"Rod DanielJerry DavisMay 1, 1982 (1982-05-01)


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